The AfD and the low Social Strata. A Research Note on Holger Lengfeld’s Study The “Alternative für Deutschland”: a Party for Losers of Societal Modernisation?

Abstract

In the June 2017 issue of this Journal, Holger Lengfeld showed empirically that “losers of societal modernisation” do not have a stronger intention to vote for AfD than others. His analyses are based on survey data collected by infratest dimap in November 2016. The mass media reported extensively on the results of this study, however, without mentioning that the survey used by Lengfeld has some specific features. In the present research note, I investigate the intention to vote for AfD on the basis of data of the German General Social Survey (ALLBUS), which were collected between April and September 2016. This survey is better suited to study the intention to vote for AfD. On the basis of this survey, I can show that “losers of societal modernisation” have a stronger intention to vote for AfD than people of higher/the high social strata.